Drawing Quiz: Rules and How to Play
Drawing Quiz is a 3–20 player, about 15-minute speed-drawing game. Watch the drawing live; the first to guess the prompt and the artist both score. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Setup
- For 3–20 players, each on their own device. Anyone beyond 20 joins as a spectator and sees the drawing and the answers too.
- The artist changes in seat order, one player at a time. One lap is everyone drawing once (you can choose the number of laps).
- The artist gets 3 prompt ideas, can redraw them up to 3 times, or type their own prompt (up to 20 characters). If they don't choose within 30 seconds, the first idea is used.
- Only the artist can see the prompt.
How to play
- The artist draws the prompt with pictures only — no letters or symbols. Tools: pen, eraser, fill, 24 colors, brush sizes, half-transparent ink, undo, redo and clear.
- Every line appears on everyone's screen while it is being drawn.
- Everyone except the artist is a guesser. Type your guess (up to 20 characters). You can have one guess waiting at a time; once it's judged you can guess again.
- The artist marks guesses in order as ○ (right) or × (wrong). A guess that exactly matches the prompt (ignoring case, spaces and hyphens) is marked right automatically.
- A guess waiting to be judged is visible only to you and the artist. Wrong guesses can be shown to the other guessers, depending on the settings.
- When time runs out the artist can't draw any more, but guessing and judging continue. The artist (or the host) can press End with no winner to show the answer and end the round. Nobody scores.
Winning and scoring
- The first correct guesser and the artist both score the same points, based on the time left when the guess was sent Up to 10 points, going down as time runs out (1 minute: 10 pts with 50+ s left, 8 with 40+, 4 with 30+, 3 with 20+, 2 with 10+, else 1. 3 minutes: 10 pts with 170+ s left, going down step by step to 1 pt under 20 s. 5 minutes: 10 pts with 280+ s left down to 1 pt under 20 s). A guess sent after time's up scores 1 point if correct. A pending guess keeps the points from when it was sent. The points for guessing right now are shown under the guess box. Pending guesses show their points at submission.
- When someone gets it, the prompt and the guess are shown to everyone, and the artist (or the host) moves on to the next artist.
- The game ends when everyone has drawn for the chosen number of laps. The highest total wins; ties share first place.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 3–20 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time limit | How long the artist can draw. After time's up, guessing and judging continue but no more drawing. Longer limits give finer point steps. | 1 min | Can be changed |
| Wrong-guess penalty | What happens after a wrong guess: none (guess again right away), a 10-second rest, or out for the rest of the round (the round ends if everyone is out). | None | Can be changed |
| Prompt set | The kind of prompts offered. Kids: easy animals and food. Normal: everyday things and vehicles. Hard: events, actions and scenes. | Normal | Can be changed |
| Laps | How many times each player draws. One lap takes about players × 1.5 minutes with a 1-minute limit. | 1 lap | Can be changed |
| Show wrong guesses | Whether guesses marked wrong are shown to the other guessers. Guesses waiting to be judged are always visible only to their writer and the artist. | Show | Can be changed |
| Exact match is right | A guess exactly matching the prompt is marked right without the artist pressing anything, so the artist can keep drawing in big groups. | On | Can be changed |
Terms
- Artist
- The player drawing the prompt. The role moves in seat order.
- Guesser
- Everyone except the artist. They watch the drawing and type guesses.
- Prompt
- What the artist draws. Only the artist sees it until someone gets it.
- Wrong-guess penalty
- What happens to a guesser whose guess is marked wrong: nothing, a 10-second rest, or out for the round.
FAQ
Can others see the drawing while it's being drawn?
Yes. Every line appears on everyone's screen as it is drawn.
Can I see other people's guesses?
Guesses waiting to be judged are visible only to their writer and the artist. Wrong guesses are shown to the other guessers when Show wrong guesses is on. Everything is shown once someone gets it.
What happens when time runs out?
No more drawing, but guessing and judging continue. A guess sent after time's up scores 1 point if correct. A pending guess keeps the points from when it was sent. The artist (or the host) can press End with no winner to end the round. Nobody scores.
How are spelling differences handled?
A guess exactly matching the prompt, ignoring case, spaces and hyphens, is marked right automatically. Close answers and synonyms are judged by the artist.
What if the artist leaves?
If the artist disconnects, the host can skip their turn. Players who leave are skipped from then on.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-26 · Run by Qdan, Inc.